Warburg Pincus Interview Questions

9 total interview insight submissions
Interview Experience (79%)

The Interview Experience is a score from 1 star (very negative) to 5 stars (very positive) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the donut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire dataset.

3.7
  • Very Negative
  • Negative
  • Neutral
  • Positive
  • Very Positive
Interview Difficulty (96%)

The Interview Difficulty is a score ranging from very difficult (red) to very easy (green) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. The higher the number, the more difficult the interviews on average. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more insights, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire data set.

3.3
  • Very Easy
  • Easy
  • Average
  • Difficult
  • Very Difficult

Interviews at Warburg Pincus

Filter by:
Year
Job Title
Group/Division
Location
Experience
Difficulty
3rd+ Year Associate
Year 2021
Job Title 3rd+ Year Associate
Group/Division Private Equity
Location Jing'an Qu
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2020
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division Private Equity
Location New York
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Vice President
Year 2021
Job Title Vice President
Group/Division Private Equity
Location New York
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Other
Year 2020
Job Title Other
Group/Division Technology Consulting
Location New York
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Difficult
2nd Year Analyst
Year 2017
Job Title 2nd Year Analyst
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location New York
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
1st Year Associate
Year 2014
Job Title 1st Year Associate
Group/Division Private Equity
Location New York
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Difficult
1st Year Associate
Year 2014
Job Title 1st Year Associate
Group/Division Private Equity
Location San Francisco
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Difficult
1st Year Associate
Year 2012
Job Title 1st Year Associate
Group/Division Private Equity
Location New York
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Difficult
Summer Associate Intern
Year 2013
Job Title Summer Associate Intern
Group/Division Venture Capital
Location New York
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Easy

Interview Questions & Answers - Warburg Pincus Examples

Associate Interview - Private Equity

Anonymous interview candidate in Jing'an Qu
Interviewed: January 2021
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
Recruiter
Length of Process
2-3 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Presentation
Interview
Started with 1-1 interview with executive directors and the partner, very behavioral and resume based, lots of questions about past deal experience, your views about a particular company or sector. Mostly try to steer fit/deep thinking.
Interview Questions
1. What’s the most biggest mistake you’ve made
2. What motivates you as a person

Analyst Interview - Private Equity

Anonymous interview candidate in New York
Interviewed: May 2020
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
First round was behavioral, second round was technical (accounting, investing considerations), third round was an LBO
Interview Questions
Paper LBO

Vice President Interview - Private Equity

Anonymous interview candidate in New York
Interviewed: July 2021
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Interviewed with tech group July 2021. Spoke with an MD and the Principal responsible for hiring for first round, and then two more conversations with another Principal and MD in second round.
Interview Questions
How do you think about building and preserving group culture?

Associate Interview - Technology Consulting

Anonymous interview candidate in New York
Interviewed: January 2020
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Staffing Agency
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
Skills Test
Interview
Well known NYC headhunter reached out to me for an associate position. Did a quick phone screening which was fairly behavioral and asked about some of my deal experience. This was followed by a typical LBO modeling test. Did not hear back afterward so I assume I didn't progress to the final round, unfortunately. Will reinterview after a year or two at the current job.
Interview Questions
How did you resolve a conflict with a direct manager?

Associate Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in New York
Interviewed: December 2017
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Recruiter
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Interview
Got the interview through HSP. The entire interview process lasted a day (offers went out throughout the day). I went in the afternoon around 4pm and had two back to back 30 min interviews. After those interviews, I had a LBO model test (1 hour). After waiting around for awhile, I had one more 30 min interview. With the conclusion of the last interview, I was told to go home (didn't get the offer).
Interview Questions
Nothing was out of the ordinary. The first two 30 minute interviews were straightforward. I was asked standard PE questions that you can find from any guide. Some tougher questions were about specific businesses that the interviewer pulled out of the blue (how do you view this business, etc.). Some other questions included how I would go about learning a new company (i.e., my investment process) and my idea of the best business model. The lbo modeling test was pretty straightforward as well. Standard hour length test. My last 30 min interviewer had me do a paper lbo on an oil & gas company, which was different than what other firms asked.

Associate Interview - Private Equity

Anonymous interview candidate in New York
Interviewed: January 2014
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Recruiter
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Skills Test
Interview
Received interview through Henkel Search Partners. Format consisted of two rounds of 1-on-1 interviews, which were mostly technical in nature. Both involved a mini-case / paper LBO based (at least in my case) on my industry background. After two interviews, certain candidates are asked to complete a modeling test, which consisted of a memo with a company description, financial projections and transaction terms used to build a three-statement LBO model from a (sparse) template. After the LBO test, certain candidates may have been asked to go through some more interviews.
Interview Questions
Walk me through an LBO of a company, using these assumptions (EBITDA, purchase multiple, growth rate, capital structure etc). Based on reasonable assumptions, what would your IRR be assuming a 5 year exit?
How do you think about investing? If you're an investor why would you invest in debt vs equity? What are the different risk/return characteristics of each?
Questions about deals on your resume like "What were the transaction multiples? Were they reasonable?" and "Would you invest in this deal?"

1st year associate Interview - Private Equity

Anonymous interview candidate in San Francisco
Interviewed: February 2014
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Staffing Agency
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Skills Test
Personality Test
Interview
Headhunter (Henkel Search Partners) contacted Tuesday for an interview opportunity on Wednesday. The firm was interviewing people in person and also via telepresence. All candidates had two 45 minute interviews with principals at the firm. The interviews consisted of case studies and technical questions (paper LBO, basic returns, IRR, etc.). Candidates that did well in the first two personal interviews were asked to take the modeling test in the office which was a template based LBO.
Interview Questions
If you knew nothing about a company or industry and were able to use one metric as a means of valuation, what would you choose? Your options are FCF (levered), EBIT, and EBITDA. Assume you have only one period's worth of data and no further financials are provided. This is industry agnostic.
Tell me about a company that you like - do you think it's a prime LBO candidate? If so, why? If not, why do you like it and why is it not a strong LBO candidate? Would a strategic buyer be interested?

Associate Interview - Private Equity

Anonymous interview candidate in New York
Interviewed: 2012
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Recruiter
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Skills Test
Interview
2 30 minute interviews with Associates -- one case study and one technical interview
1 90 minute model test
1 30 minute interview with Senior Associate -- case study
Interview Questions
If I make 8 times my money in 6 years, what's my IRR? You have to use the rule of 72 to figure this out.

Also, what are the ways to figure out IRR with a basic calculator and paper
A full case study on leasing verse buying. Walked through whether a trnasportation company should buy or lease containers. Know the basic calculations to figure out cost of capital, RoE, etc. for this case.

Summer Associate Interview - Venture Capital

Anonymous employee in New York
Interviewed: March 2013
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Background Check
Interview
Dropped by resume off at the career center; and received a phone screen interiew approx 2 weeks later. Initial screen was very simple, asked basic questions regarding interest in VC, ascertained my understanding of how the VC process works/develops over time. Because I am a physician, also had prelim questions rerarding my technical expertise (imaging equipment). Approx 2 weeks after that, had a 1:1 in person interview in the NY office with a senior tream member from the division that I was interested in. It was sociable, talked mostly about our alma mater and developments in the field of medical imaging. Lasted approx 2 hrs, got a positive indication at the end.
Interview Questions
How do you think the VC process will change in the next 5-10 yrs? How should we prepare for that, and how can you help us prepare for that?
If I needed you to fly to North Dakota on the same weekend as your wife's birthday or anniversary, could you?